The United Nations of Sugar Artists
Have you been wondering why every social media has lit up with the color
red this past week? Signs, globes, hearts, red ribbons, cakes and cookies. This
powerful color is bringing with it a message: “Inspire and ACT to Create Change”.
Under the leadership of Zawadi Parizek of Honey Bunny Bake Shop a group
of over 170 Sugar Artist from all over the world- The United Nation of Sugar Artists- “have come together to raise awareness and educate people about
social inadequacies through edible art creations”. Their first project was to
raise awareness for Dec.1 World Aides Day and raise funds via
https://www.gofundme.com/beteamred . Hence the red!
We have spent the past months exchanging
ideas, supporting each other and making new friends. I am honored to have been
asked to be a part of this.
Although the majority of sugar artist that
participated are cakers there is a small group of cookiers that accepted the
challenge to be a part of this marvelous collaboration and each one of us has
been thrilled to have done so.
I would like to share with you a bit about
some of these wonderful cookiers and their marvelous contribution to the
collaboration. Each cookier was asked the identical set of questions to make it
easier to get to know a bit about them and their participation in this project!
I
admire each of these creative woman and their exceptional talent and leadership
in the cookie community. I thank each one for taking their time and answering
these questions for me! I wish you all continued success in all your creative
endeavors.
Our first
cookie contributor is Kari Arroyo aka Yankee Girl Yummies :
Name Kari Arroyo
Business Name Yankee Girl Yummies
Location Jonesboro, AR
1. Please tell us a little bit about
how you started baking?
I started baking almost 5 years
ago. I was taking a break from being a nurse and found myself looking for a
hobby!
2. Have you always made
cookies? If yes why did you choose to make cookies instead of other pastries? If no why did you switch to
making cookies?
Until 5 years ago, I had never
made a dessert that didn’t come out of a box. I tried cake balls and cakes
prior to trying cookies. I fell in love with the endless possibilities that
cookies offered. AND the fact that I could just eat it if I messed it up!
3. Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?
Not really! I love chocolate
cookies but I’m always trying new variations.
4.
Please speak to the amount of time and work that goes into make a batch of
cookies and decorating them.
I can’t, honestly, say how much
time goes into a set of cookies. I never make the same set of cookies twice!
The planning and design of the cookies is something that is always in the back
of my mind. I use Pinterest to save ideas and refer back them when I go to
sketch the set out. The time spent on the execution of the set totally depends
on quantity and level of difficulty! But it’s safe to say that I can spend
several days planning and making a set of cookies.
5.
Do you always bake batches or say 5 cookies at a time?
For a video tutorial, I usually
make a half batch of cookies at one time. If it’s for an event/order, I’ll make
more!
6. What is your favorite technique
for decorating cookies?
I love to mix up techniques!
Layering royal icing and adding tiny details, with royal icing, is probably my
favorite!
7.
Cookies have become very intricate. What was the longest amount of time you
have spent on one cookie?
I have spent 10 hours on the
decorating portion of one cookie. That does not include baking or mixing the
icing colors!
8. Do you find that it is
challenging for cookie artists to join collaborations?
Not really. I think that everyone
has something unique to add to a collaboration – whether you make cakes or
cookies.
9.
Tell us about the inspiration for your BeTeamRed cookie.
My
inspiration came from a flower print that I saw. I just added my own little
touch!
10.
What would you tell other cookie artists who are thinking about joining a
collaboration? Follow the collaboration
guidelines, but be true to yourself. Do a piece that you love and don’t worry
that you’re not as good as the next person.
******************************
Our second cookie contributor
Karen Zanker of Piped Dream Cookies:
Name: Karen Zanker
Business Name: Piped Dreams
Cookies
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
1. Please tell us a little bit about how you
started baking?
The warm kitchen, the delicious aromas,
licking the spoon! Baking is my happy place!! I think it really goes back to my
childhood. My parents were both great in the kitchen. Dad would bake our family’s
bread each week. I remember getting so frustrated as he tried to teach me how
to roll buns and I just could not get it with the ease and finesse that he had!
Mum was always baking sweet treats for our school lunches or our after school
snacks. Even now, after all of the kids have grown up and left home, she still
bakes every week. Cakes, cookies, and other sweet treats to take with her when
she volunteers at an aged care home.
2. Have you always made cookies? If yes why
did you choose to make cookies instead of other pastries? If no why did you
switch to making cookies?
Despite my love of baking all things sweet,
commercially I’ve always just made cookies. Who doesn’t love a cookie? A sweet,
small, innocent cookie…it’s not like you’re breaking the diet with a big ol’
hunk of chocolate cake, now is it?! Just one little cookie…maybe another!
Initially it was more of the gourmet
shortbread style cookies, like my signature Passionfruit and White Chocolate
Cookie or my heavenly Rosewater Melting Moments. Now, though, it is the Iced
Cookies that I’m known for. The ability to customise the iced cookies makes
them a unique addition to any celebration.
3. Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?
Oh absolutely! I’ve spent a lot of time
developing my vanilla cookie recipe to give me the perfect canvas for my cookie
art. One of my all-time favourite recipes is my Classic Butter Shortbread
recipe. I think it’s because it’s not only very easy to make but it’s the very
first cookie I remember making on my own.
4. Please speak to the amount of time and
work that goes into make a batch of cookies and decorating them.
I generally bake a batch of cookies on a
Monday and start icing them on the Tuesday. Details are added Wednesday and
Thursday before being packaged up ready for collection or delivery on a Friday.
The time taken to decorate cookies varies from design to design. A major time
factor with decorated cookies is the drying. It can take anywhere between 12-48
hours for the icing to dry completely.
5. Do you always bake batches or say 5
cookies at a time?
I bake fresh to order and with no minimum
quantity to order, it doesn’t matter if it’s 5 cookies or 55 cookies.
6. What is your favorite technique for
decorating cookies?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed hand painting on
cookies lately using food colours.
7. Cookies have become very intricate. What
was the longest amount of time you have spent on one cookie?
The longest time I’ve spent on an individual
cookie is somewhere in the vicinity of 6 hours of decorating, not including the
designing time or the drying time.
8. Do you find that it is challenging for
cookie artists to join collaborations?
I’ve participated in a number of
collaborations now and each time it is definitely a challenge to come up with a
creative way to use cookies to meet the theme.
9. Tell us about the inspiration for your
BeTeamRed cookie.
I really wanted to my piece to reflect the
pain and anguish associated with Aids, but also the hope that one day soon we
can live in an aids free world. The tear represents the pain. The red awareness
ribbon in the middle of the eye is representative of the hope that we have for
that aids free future.
10. What would you tell other cookie artists
who are thinking about joining a collaboration?
Just go for it. I love the opportunity to be
creative in ways that I don’t get a chance to be in my day to day orders. I
also love that I’ve gotten to meet so many other incredibly talented sugar
artist from across the globe.
*******************************************
Our Third contributor is Nadiia Kalinichenko of My
Little Bakery:
Name:Nadiia Kalinichenko
Business Name: My Little Bakery
Location: San Diego, CA
http://cakecreationsforyou.blogspot.com
1. Please tell
us a little bit about how you started baking? I have always loved baking and decorating cookies and
cakes but did not have time for it. But when I moved to the USA I had to find
something to do. Once I saw a very beautiful cookie picture on flickr and
astonished by it. After that I wanted to try to make something similar. I have
bought some cookie cutters, piping bags, tips and started to bake and decorate.
2. Have you always made cookies? If yes
why did you choose to make cookies instead of other pastries? If no why did you
switch to making cookies? I also make
cakes, cake pops, cupcakes, macaroons if I have extra time. Most of time I give
to my cookies.
3. Do you have a favorite cookie
recipe? My favorite
cookie recipe is chocolate and vanilla sugar cookies.
4. Please speak to the amount of time and
work that goes into make a batch of cookies and decorating them. I have never
thought about how much time I make and decorate each dozen. It depends on my
mood, difficulty of the cookie design etc.
5. Do you always bake batches or say 5
cookies at a time? I try to bake
at least 2 dozen of cookies at a time.
6. What is your favorite technique for
decorating cookies?
I like to use all of the
decorating techniques, try to do something new, but my favorite ones are lace
piping and painting.
7. Cookies have become very intricate.
What was the longest amount of time you have spent on one cookie? Most time I spent on a big Oprah Winfrey's
embroidered cookie. It took more than 4 hours.
8. Do you find that it is challenging
for cookie artists to join collaborations?
I think joining collaborations for an artist
is a great opportunity to use their talent for something great and to inspire
people no to be indifferent.
9. Tell us about the inspiration for
your BeTeamRed cookie. I got inspired by the works of other artists
of this collaboration.
10. What would you tell other cookie
artists who are thinking about joining a collaboration?
I would
tell other cookie artists that it is a great honor to be part of collaborations
like this, a chance to share your talent with the world and do something good
through it.
*******************************************
Our Fourth
Cookie Contributor is Kristi Touchette of Ahimsa Custom Cakes, LLC
Name:Kristi
Touchette
Business Name: Ahimsa Custom Cakes, LLC
Location: Auburn,
Maine
1.
Please tell us a little bit
about how you started baking? Unlike most
bakers, I first learned to bake without the use of eggs or dairy. I’m not
exactly sure why that was, maybe roots from the depression, but it was very
convenient when I decided to go vegan 15 years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever
baked with eggs, now that I think of it.
2.
Have you always made cookies? if yes why did you choose to make cookies
instead of other pastries? If no why did you switch to making cookies? I started off
making cakes and cookies with the intent of doing more cookies but at the time
they were too time-consuming. It’s only the past two years that I’ve gotten
back into cookies.
3.
Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?
I’d say my favorite is my cinnamon-vanilla bean cookie
recipe.
4.
Please speak to the amount of time and work that goes into make a batch
of cookies and decorating them. I freehand all my work and my
portraits can take me anywhere from an hour to several hours per cookie. A
basic set of cookies might take me a couple of hours, but an intricate dozen
could take a couple of days. I work with glaze so drying time can slow me down.
5.
Do you always bake batches or say 5 cookies at a time. I bake small batches unless I’m
working on a large project, and I usually only make what I’m going to need at
that time. I’ll use any leftover dough for personal projects and experiments.
6.
What is your favorite technique for decorating cookies? Definitely hand painting. I love
adding texture to my cookies, but almost all incorporate hand painting.
Portrait cookies are my favorite.
7.
Cookies have become very intricate. What was the longest amount of time
you have spent on one cookie? I think it would be my Thor cookie
from last summer which took about 3 hours to hand paint.
8.
Do you find that it is
challenging for cookie artists to join collaborations? This is only my second collaboration
and I’ve made cookies for both projects. Cookies were welcome in both
collaborations.
9.
Tell us about the inspiration for your BeTeamRed cookie. I approached
this as I do my sculptural work – intuitively, with just a basic idea. I wanted
to do something I hadn’t seen before, which was sculpting a 3D face out of
cookie dough. I also wanted to incorporate some hand painting. I was inspired
by cemetery statues on a walk with my daughter, which began a loose narrative
where the mother had passed away leaving behind a healthy child. It evolved
from there. The wafer paper ribbon connects mother to the earth and her child.
10.
What would you tell other cookie artists who are thinking about joining a
collaboration? I’m still
very new to collaborations so it’s still a bit of a mystery to me, but I would
say have fun with it.
*****************************************
Our Fifth
Contributor is Jill Wettstein aka Funky Cookie Studio
Name Jill
Wettstein
Business Name Funky
Cookie Studio
Location Sister
Bay, WI USA
1.
Please tell us a little bit about
how you started baking?
I baked birthday cakes and holiday
cookies for years, but I didn’t really catch the baking bug until the kids were
all grown and I had more time to explore it.
2.
Have you always made cookies? if yes
why did you choose to make cookies instead of other pastries? If no why did you
switch to making cookies?
Cookies have always been my thing.
I “think”” I chose cookies because I liked the small canvas.
3.
Do you have a favorite cookie
recipe?
Yes, we worked diligently at
tweaking our cut-out cookie recipe because taste is our number 1 priority.
4.
Please speak to the amount of time
and work that goes into make a batch of cookies and decorating them.
When people ask how long it takes
to make a cookie, my reply is, “It’s definitely a labor of love.”
5.
Do you always bake batches or say 5
cookies at a time?
We bake batches since opening the
Studio.
6.
What is your favorite technique for
decorating cookies?
No doubt about it, wet-on-wet;
although, airbrushing highlights is a close second.
7.
Cookies have become very intricate.
What was the longest amount of time you have spent on one cookie?
My philosophy in cookie design is
to keep it simple and honor the humble cookie. With that in mind, my longest
amount of time is spent in designing ... artfully simple takes planning for me.
8.
Do you find that it is challenging
for cookie artists to join collaborations?
No, not at all — the cookie
community has a huge, generous heart and there is always a cause that people
are passionate about.
9.
Tell us about the inspiration for
your BeTeamRed cookie.
I wanted to depict “hope” in my
creation — thinking about “hope” got me to thinking about “what if.” A friend
of mine illustrated an awesome children’s book entitled “The What If Book.” I
contacted her to get permission to use one of her characters as inspiration for
my cookies.
10. What
would you tell other cookie artists who are thinking about joining a
collaboration?
Surrounding yourself with
inspiring, creative people is always a good thing.
**********************
Our
Sixth Cookier is Marta Torres of The Cookie Lab-Bolachas Decoradas
Artesanais
Name : Marta Torres
Business Name: The
Cookie Lab - Bolachas Decoradas Artesanais
Location: Lisbon,
Portugal
Web: Thecookielab.net
Instagram: thecookielab
Pinterest: Marta
Torres
1. Please
tell us a little bit about how you started baking?
I always enjoy baking from a tender age, being from a
family of 10 people, there was always need to give a help to mom, either for
bread or sweets, nevertheless, baking for me has been just for my family or
family entertaining purposes.
2. Have
you always made cookies? if yes why did you choose to make cookies instead of other
pastries? If no why did you switch to making cookies?
Although I used to bake, bread and
sweets, cookies weren´t part of this baking process, there is no tradition in
my country, I didn´t even know there was a Cookie World out there, actually,
when I started, I had no idea about royal icing, how to make it and so may
others things related to the decorating process. Cookies came into my life by accident 3 years
ago, they were a way to cope with a life changing situation, they come as a
therapy and they helped me to go through it.
3. Do
you have a favorite cookie recipe?
Yes, although I play with several
doughs and like to try new flavours and consistencies for different results, my
Vanilla cookies are my favourites for sure.
4. Please
speak to the amount of time and work that goes into make a batch of cookies and
decorating them.
Baking and decorating is a very time
consuming process indeed, but most of my time is spent on decorating them, I
usually tend to go for details, volume, tridimensional effects, and I use lots of techniques in one single cookie,
that´s were I spent most of my time. I barely sale cookies (but a give away a lot), most of them are used for
teaching, they are samples for techniques for my Workshops.
5. Do
you always bake batches or say 5 cookies at a time?
Yes, When baking I try to maximize
time and usually bake no less than 20 to 25 at time.
6. What
is your favorite technique for decorating cookies?
My cookies are 99% decorated with
Royal Icing, and I do like to play with consistencies for different results.
Anything with volume and a tridimensional effect is a favourite.
7. Cookies
have become very intricate. What was the longest amount of time you have spent
on one cookie
I
recently made one measuring 15 x 12 cm which is bigger than I usually
make, and that one, due to all the details took me 2 day (drying time included)
8. Do
you find that it is challenging for cookie artists to join collaborations?
Yes, I think so. There are so many
cookies decorators and we all have our own style. Being given the opportunity
of participating in a Collaboration with a Specific theme, it´s always a
pleasure, a learning and challenging process to each one of us, to put in our
little “canvas” our interpretation and
above all, the possibility of makes cookies for a cause.
9. Tell
us about the inspiration for your BeTeamRed cookie.
This cookie in particular, is my
sweet interpretation of “ The
Nestling" - original painting by Emily Balivet,
I intend to call the awareness that
with proper care, breastfeeding don´t have to be a risk anymore, with this
cookie I see the double protection a mother can give, the mother protecting the
son with her powerful feathered wings, and mother Earth protecting both.
10. What
would you tell other cookie artists who are thinking about joining a
collaboration?
Joining a Collaboration is such a
learning process and not just about our work, for me, more than showing my work
is the possibility of participating in a group where true friendship happens,
were people are together for a cause and everyone works and helps to make it
possible.
I feel very honoured and thankful
for being invited for such project and for being among wonderful people and
talented artists.
Thank you so much.
************************
Our Seventh Cookier is Anna Bonilla of Kyras Cookies
Name: Anna Bonilla
Name of Business: Kyras Cookies
Location: Barcelona, Spain
1. Please tell us a bit about how you started baking?
- I
started baking in order to raise money for my daughter´s Study trip to
London
2. Where did you make cookies? if so, why did you choose
to make cookies instead of other pastries? If not, why switch to bake cookies?
- When I started raising money for this trip
I was making cupcakes, cake pops and cookies but then I fell in love with cookies and drop the other goodies,baking
then just cookies. For me they are little canvas where I represent my
feelings.
3. Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?
- Yes, I tend to almost always make the vanilla, although Christmas bake
chocolate and ginger cookies
4. Please talk to the amount of time and work that goes
into making a batch of cookies and decorate them.
Depending
on the technique and quantity, if they are painted,there is a minimum of two to
four hours.
5. Do you always say lots of cakes or cookies
at a time
- Depends on what I am asked to do.
6. What is your favorite technique for decorating
cookies?
- Undoubtedly painted cookies
7. Cookies have become very complex. What was the longest
time you have spent on a cookie
- The longest I spent on a cookie
was three weeks. It was the cookie for collaboration Spring of Fable.
8. Is it hard for artists to join collaborations
cookie?
- Yes it is because our work,due
to it´s small size is less
visible than decorated cakes
9. Tell us about the inspiration for his cookie
BeTeamRed.
- To this collaboration was inspired
by a picture of a pregnant woman from pinterest because I think it's very important to protect
the baby even from before
conception.
10. What would you say to other artists of cookies that
are thinking of joining a partnership?
Don’t think twice because it is a unique and very rewarding experience to see so many
artists united in a common cause.
*****************
Our Eight cookier is Ellen
Janssen of Cup of
Cookies:
Name Ellen Janssen
Business Name Cup
of Cookies
Location Netherlands
Twitter twitter.com/CupOfCookies
Instagram instagram.com/cup_of_cookies/
Pinterest pinterest.com/cupofcookies
1. Please tell
us a little bit about how you started baking?
When I was little I loved baking with my
mom. A few years back I started following cookie blogs from Sweet Sugar Belle,
Bake at 350 and LilaLoa. Not long after that I just had to try it myself J
2. Have you
always made cookies? if yes why did you choose to make cookies instead of other
pastries? If no why did you switch to making cookies?
Yes
it was cookies and cupcakes from the beginning. A few months back I made my first
cake, which was fun, but making cookies is way more fun!
3. Do you have
a favorite cookie recipe?
Yes I’ve got 3 favorite cookie recipes. The
Orange Vanilla Spice recipe from SweetAmbs, the Chocolate recipe from Lilaloa
and the Vanilla recipe from De Koekenbakkers.
I make all my cookies from Spelt flour since my boyfriend is allergic to wheat.
4. Please speak
to the amount of time and work that goes into make a batch of cookies and
decorating them.
Haha a very long time! First you need to
figure out what you’re going to make. That might also be the longest step for
me because I’m very bad at making decisions and always keep changing my
mind. Than you need to make dough, chill dough, roll out my dough, cut out some
cookies, bake your cookies, make royal icing, colour your icing, make it have the
right consistency, put it in bags and then start decorating. So there’s a lot
to do before I can even start with the fun part.
5. Do you
always bake batches or say 5 cookies at a time
I normally bake batches, because my co-workers
love to get all the leftovers lol.
6. What is your
favorite technique for decorating cookies?
I love stenciling, a technique I used on
my cookies for the Getting to Zero Collaboration.
7. Cookies have
become very intricate. What was the longest amount of time you have spent on
one cookie?
The longest was 3 days on 16 cookies. That
was for the set I made last year for the 12 Days of Christmas Collaboration.
8. Do you find
that it is challenging for cookie artists to join collaborations?
No I don’t think that’s difficult. But it does
matter who your cookie/cake friends are. If people don’t know who you are,
changes are you won’t get asked. So get yourself out there, be active in groups,
make friends and have fun!
9. Tell us
about the inspiration for your BeTeamRed cookie.
I knew right away that I wanted to do something
with a red ribbon and stenciling since that’s quite new to me. I kept my
cookies simple, because I wanted that all the focus goes to the ribbon and its
meaning.
10. What would
you tell other cookie artists who are thinking about joining a collaboration?
Do
it! It’s so much fun and you get the chance to really challenge yourself.
********************
As
the last cookie contributor for this blog Tina Tsourtsoulas aka Sugar Wishes
Name: Tina De Luca Tsourtsoulas
Business Name: Sugar Wishes
Location: Kastoria, Greece
1.
Please tell us a little bit about
how you started baking? I
have always enjoyed baking but now I do it with a purpose. It helped fill the
empty time when my 3 children left for university and I was suddenly home alone
many hours a day. I baked Christmas cookies with my daughter in 2012 and really
loved it and haven’t stopped since.
2.
Have you always made cookies? If yes
why did you choose to make cookies instead of other pastries? If no why did you
switch to making cookies? Cookies
are small delicious works of art. Everyone loves them and they are something that
can be done stress free. You break a cookie you eat it! No harm! Make another!
3.
Do you have a favorite cookie
recipe? I feel in love
with Signature Sweet Shoppe recipe and tweaked it for Greece’s humidity but it
is a basic rich vanilla sugar cookie.
4.
Please speak to the amount of time
and work that goes into make a batch of cookies and decorating them. All I can say is it is a labor of
love! I do not sell my cookies but I bake for gifts and it can take me a week
to do a dozen cookies in between house work, family and digital albums I do for
my husband’s photography business.
5.
Do you always bake batches or say 5
cookies at a time. I
always bake at least 2 dozen at a time which is half my batch recipe.
6.
What is your favorite technique for
decorating cookies? I
love needlepoint and intricate piping the best.
7.
Cookies have become very intricate. What was the
longest amount of time you have spent on one cookie. Hours,
way to many to want to eat it!
8.
Do you find that it is challenging
for cookie artists to join collaborations? The biggest challenge is having the confidence to stand
tall among the absurd talent of the sugar world community.
9.
Tell us about the inspiration for
your BeTeamRed cookie. My
inspiration came off a silhouette drawing I found on google. Then I incorporated
what I loved to do and created my piece.
10. What
would you tell other cookie artists who are thinking about joining a
collaboration? Go
for it! You will meet some really supportive and wonderful people and have a
great time feeling a part of something bigger then yourself.
Please
click on the links below to contribute to The Global Fund to support their war
on HIV/AIDS.
